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Muslim Dies from Torture in Uzbekistan:
HRW
WASHINGTON,
Oct 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Muslim father of two, who died in police custody in Uzbekistan last week, is suspected of dying under torture, according to a report by Human Rights Watch this weekend.
The New York-based international human rights group Saturday issued details surrounding the death of 32-year-old Ravshan Haidov. Haidov was arrested October 17th, along with his 25-year-old brother, Rasul, interrogated by Uzbek authorities on suspicion of their alleged involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned Islamic organization.
Haidov's body was returned to his family a day after he was detained, the press release said. The police gave the official cause of death as a heart attack, but HRW reported that those who saw the body said that his body was covered with bruises. Haidov's neck and one leg were broken and his upper back also bore signs of injuries.
Haidov's brother is currently being hospitalized for undisclosed reasons.
"This [Haidov's] death follows a distinct pattern in Uzbekistan of police torture of religious detainees and dissidents," said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of HRW's Europe and Central Asia Division, in the press release.
In a detailed December 2000 report on torture in Uzbekistan, HRW said that in 1998-2000, local rights groups documented seven deaths due to torture in custody that occurred within days after arrest; Saturday's press release said that in the past three years, fifteen such deaths have occurred.
The 2000 report tells about one man's case that bears similarities to Haidov's. Forty-two-year-old Furkhat Usmonov was arrested on June 14, 1999 on suspicion of being a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. His body was returned to his family on June 25, after he allegedly died of heart failure. But HRW representatives, who viewed the body, noted "large contusions and cuts" on his face, chest and other parts of his body.
The report, entitled, "And it was Hell All Over Again…" describes deaths in official custody due to torture as a growing trend in recent years. The document also charges claims the widespread use of torture in Uzbek jails - for everything from common crimes to political and religious detentions - is "an unmistakable feature of the government's crackdown against independent Islam."
Uzbekistan joined the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The independent nation has preserved the Soviet method of governing religion by a "Spiritual Council," which approves clerics and regulates their sermons. It also licenses religious teachers and produces and distributes the only religious literature that is declared legal, according to HRW's report.
Independent groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, which HRW says promotes the creation of an Islamic state through non-violent means, and individuals who preach or pray outside of state-sanctioned avenues, are targeted under ill-defined charges of "religious extremism."
In February of 1999, 15 people were killed in a series of car bomb explosions in the capital, Tashkent, in what appeared to be an attempt on president Islam Karimov's life. Human Rights Watch says Karimov then instigated a massive wave of arrests of "Islamic radicals" across the country, though only a few were actually held in connection with the bombings, HRW said.
Although officials accuse some Muslims of supporting armed groups based outside of Uzbekistan, those peacefully expressing their religious beliefs continue to be targeted for arrests. The HRW report said this applies to Muslims who pray alone and in groups, or are suspected of praying in mosques that have been labeled by the government as supporters of opposition activity.
According to the HRW press release, local rights groups estimated that of some 7,000 "independent Muslims" have been detained because of their religious practices. About 4,000 Muslim, said the report, were arrested for their affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The use of torture in the detention of suspected "radicals" has been well-documented by HRW, and their 2000 report (http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/uzbek/). The document is available online and is based on information obtained in interviews with former detainees, family members and lawyers.
The four-year research project also documented cases of torture including beatings, asphyxiation, electric shock, rape and other sexual violence, deprivation of sleep, food, and water, psychological pressure, including threats, and cruel and degrading treatment. A government policy for holding families accountable for the actions of their members has been publicly announced, and relatives are also often detained, threatened with torture or tortured themselves, HRW said.
Uzbekistan's documented use of torture is of particular concern to HRW in light of its new relationship with the United States and the "war on terrorism." Over 1,000 U.S. troops were recently stationed in Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, after the September 11 attacks in preparation for its military campaign. Uzbekistan's accusations of "terrorism" among its own Islamic dissidents apparently undermine it recent allegiance with the powers fighting the Taliban, who are seen by most in the West as supporters of terrorism.
"It's never been more important to urge the Uzbek government to clean up its act," said Andersen. "Otherwise the U.S. and its allies could be seen as aligning itself with a government that tortures non-violent Muslims to death in the name of fighting terrorism."
HRW expressed concern over what was announced last week as a "qualitatively new relationship" between the U.S. and Uzbekistan.
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